About Robin & Arlene Karpan

Robin & Arlene Karpan are travel writers, photographers and book publishers based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. We got hooked on travel back in our student days and basically never stopped wandering around the globe, eventually turning our interests into a full time business. For many years we have worked as freelance travel writers and photographers, contributing to well over 100 publications around the world, working on contract projects for business and government in the travel and tourism field, and selling stock photography.

In 1998, we founded Parkland Publishing and branched our business into book writing and publishing. Our books have two main specialties – travel guides and photography books on our home province of Saskatchewan, and books on travel and photography in many of the world’s most spectacular natural areas. We recently expanded our book line-up to include ebooks, which are now available through ebook retailers around the world. We are fortunate that our books have been well received, some becoming bestsellers and winning awards.

While our work encompasses various aspects of travel, our specialty is the natural world, including nature and wildlife photography, visiting wilderness areas, hiking, canoeing, and travelling off the beaten track. Unfortunately, it is natural areas almost everywhere that seem to be disappearing the fastest. If the world’s special places and special creatures are to survive, it will be because people know about them and care about them. We hope that our work can play a role in raising awareness and fostering an appreciation of our many extraordinary places.

Awards, Accomplishments, and Recognition

We are fortunate that much of our work has been well accepted by the public, and this has led to various types of recognition such as awards, nominations, and other accomplishments. Some examples include:

Our article Sleeping with Rhinos on Photojourneys won First Place for the Best Outdoor/Adventure Feature at the Travel Media Association of Canada (TMAC) Awards in June, 2018..

Highly Commended Award in the Habitat and Landscapes category of WildlifePhoto.com international nature photography competition.

Photo Journeys named among the 100 Best Travel Photography Blogs on the Planet by FeedSpot. July, 2017

First Place in the Best Action Photo of the Year at the Travel Media Association of Canada (TMAC) Awards in June, 2017

First Place in the Best Action Photo of the Year at the Travel Media Association of Canada (TMAC) Awards in June, 2016, as well as Outstanding Achievement Award in the same category. See our post on the awards.

Nine Saskatchewan Tourism Awards of Excellence

Six of our books have become Canadian Bestsellers

The Great Saskatchewan Bucket List was the Number 1 bestselling Saskatchewan-published book in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017 according to the Saskatchewan Publishers Group (SaskBooks), the Number 1 bestselling book for 2012 in the Local Interest category in the Indigo/Chapters/Coles chain for all stores combined in the Saskatchewan/Manitoba region, and the Number 1 bestselling book store-wide in 2012 (Number 2 in 2013) at the large McNally Robinson Booksellers in Saskatoon, SK.

Winner in the Landscapes/Seascapes category in the Northern American Travel Journalists Association Awards

Two photographs selected for the final round of judging in the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition during 2014 and 2015.

Robin and Arlene were both presented with the Saskatchewan Centennial Medal by the province’s Lieutenant-Governor in recognition of their work.

Meet Robin & Arlene

Robin and Arlene are authors of 13 books, including bestsellers and award-winners, plus they have contributed travel writing and photography to well over 100 other publications around the world. read more...

Awards & Achievements

June, 2018: Our article Sleeping with Rhinos on Photojourneys won First Place for the Best Outdoor/Adventure Feature at the Travel Media Association of Canada awards.

February, 2018: Our photo of Saskatchewan’s William River received a Highly Commended award in the Habitat and Landscapes category of the WildlifePhoto.com international nature photography competition.

Photo Journeys was named among the 100 Best Travel Photography Blogs on the web by FeedSpotJune, 2017: Our photo of two Alaskan Brown Bears fighting over prime fishing spots in Katmai National Park, Alaska won 1st place in the Best Action Photo Award in the Travel Media Association of Canada (TMAC) national awards.

May, 2017: Our photo was named a Finalist in the Siena International Photo Awards. The 2017 competition received 50,000 entries from 130 countries. The photo was of an Alaskan Brown Bear and salmon in Katmai National Park, Alaska.

February, 2017: Our photo of an Alaskan Brown Bear and salmon was awarded Highly Commended status in the Animal Behaviour Category of the 2016 WildlifePhoto.com competition. The image will be part of a photo exhibit at Big Screen Plaza in New York City.

June, 2016: Our photo of a brown bear fishing for salmon in Katmai National Park, Alaska, won 1st Place for the Best Action Photo at the Travel Media Association of Canada (TMAC) Awards.

Our photo of Bufflehead ducks in their spring mating ritual won Outstanding Achievement in the Best Action Photo at the same awards.

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2017 Bestsellers

Our book, The Great Saskatchewan Bucket List, topped the list as the Number One Bestseller on SaskBooks' (Saskatchewan Publishers Group) of Saskatchewan-published books for 2017. This was the 6th year in a row that the Bucket List was in the Number One spot.